Taco Tuesday
by serenitymeimei
Summary: It was a curse. A spicy, cheesy, Mexican curse.. Post 3x08. Audrey/Duke, Audrey/Nathan


**Disclaimer:** If Haven were mine, the whole Audrey/Nathan/Duke love triangle would be a canon OT3... just saying. (see profile for a REAL disclaimer)

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Sighing to herself, Audrey turned off the ignition in her car and glared at the sign hanging in front of The Grey Gull.

She hadn't realized that it was Tuesday again.

The little taco was all by itself this week, missing his usual companion specials of dancing nachos and something she was pretty sure was supposed to be a burrito. It was a cute, stereotypical cartoon that was designed to draw in customers, and would normally be downright adorable under different circumstances. But, she hated it.

Why, you ask?

Audrey was ninety nine percent certain that it was haunting her. Starting right from the first time that she noticed it during her horrible experience stuck in that damn time loop, continuing through to the evening before she was kidnapped, and now again on the day after Nathan had been murdered by the bolt gun killer and then miraculously brought back to life again.

It was a curse. A spicy, cheesy, Mexican curse. Because every time Tuesday rolled around it only served as a reminder of what she could have lost, and just how fragile life really was. It told her that it was up to her to maintain the peace in Haven and, on some days- days like today- it was downright exhausting.

Beside her, Duke shifted in the passenger seat, and it made her realize that she'd forgotten he was there. He had remained quiet for the duration of the ride back into town, lost in thought or fiddling with his cell phone. But, now? Audrey didn't have to turn and look him to know that he was watching her. His worried gaze had always made her teeth ache. She wasn't sure what had changed, though in retrospect she would probably realize that it most likely had to do with the fact that she'd been sitting there for more than a minute without saying a word or even making a move to get out of the car, but she didn't like or want the attention. Not today. Not when she knew exactly what was on his mind.

They must have heard her. Duke and Jordan. It would have been damn near impossible for them to not to it in that tiny cabin. They'd seen her cry over Nathan's body and heard her confession- that he was more than just a partner to her, that she _loved_ him.

It wasn't that she was embarrassed that she'd said it, no, she felt guilty. Guilty because Audrey hadn't wanted to cause either one of them even the smallest amount of heartache, nor leave them with the burden of knowing her secret once she was gone. She couldn't have stopped herself though. She'd blurted the words out without thinking and it wasn't until later that she'd seen it in their eyes- the pity, the anger, the sadness, and even a hint of betrayal. But, Duke had been a good friend. He'd kept Jordan occupied while she and Nathan ran off to find Tommy, even though she was pretty sure that he wanted nothing more than to sweep her and Nathan away to some foreign land on his boat and leave Haven and the troubles behind.

So, there they were, sitting in an awkward silence on the outskirts of The Gull's parking lot.

"You okay, Audrey?"

"No," she nibbled on her bottom lip and took a deep breath, glancing briefly in his direction, "I think I'm having a hard time processing."

"That sounded awfully clinical, Dr. Parker," he bumped her arm gently with the side of his fist, teasing her, "I think you've been hanging around that therapist friend of yours too much."

Audrey smiled a little at that, "Yeah, well, she's said it so many times that I think I'm actually starting to believe it."

He didn't seem to have anything to say to that. No sarcastic remarks or witty comebacks. He just tilted his head to the side and waited for her to speak. When she didn't, her _'About Colorado...'_ and _'I'm so sorry, Duke',_ stubbornly stuck on the tip of her tongue, he sighed and let out a breathy chuckle as he absently scratched at his goatee.

"I'm uh- I'm gonna head inside," he pocketed his phone and reached for the door handle, "You brave the crowd when you're ready, alright?"

Reaching out for him, Audrey squeezed his hand in thanks, "I won't be long."

Duke nodded and tangled their fingertips together before she had a chance to pull away. When she looked up at him, their gazes met and he rubbed his thumb gently over her knuckles- once, twice, three times- and much to her horror the simplicity, the intimacy, of the gesture nearly made her cry. It told her exactly how much he cared about her, and that he would be there for her no matter what happened. But, almost as quickly as it started, he let her go and slid out of the car, leaving her to watch as he weaved his way through the throng of the dinner rush and disappeared into the main entrance.

Audrey's brow furrowed, wondering for the umpteenth time since arriving in Haven what Duke saw in her. The day that they'd met he told her that he didn't associate with cops, even pretty ones like her, yet he continued to help her whenever she asked. There were only a small handful of reasons that she could think of to explain why someone of his... _occupation_ would go back on their word like that. There was friendship, which she liked to think was the main reason, bravado, or, well, she didn't want to think about the other thing. Not after that kiss. Not after she'd pulled away from him with flushed cheeks and one less article of clothing, far too flustered to think straight, and fled. It was too much. Feelings were a messy business and she already had far too many of them to even start figuring out what that might mean.

Running a weary hand over her face, she just barely had a chance to relax back into her seat and take a deep, cleansing, breath before she heard the rumble of another car pull into the parking lot.

It was Jordan's SUV.

Audrey watched as Nathan slid out of the passenger side and waited for the dark haired woman to follow suit before chatting with her over roof. She wouldn't have been able to hear their conversation even if her window had been down, but judging by Jordan's sad, almost deprecating, smile and even sadder eyes, whatever Nathan was saying hadn't settled very well with her.

If Audrey had been any other woman and the circumstances had been different, she imagined that she should have been jealous. Hell, she probably would have done almost anything to keep the competition away from Nathan. Audrey wasn't one of those people though. She couldn't deny someone, anyone, potential happiness, and this time it just happened to be at her expense. Unfortunately, she'd been naïve enough to think that it would only affect her. She hated that she'd been wrong, that she'd screwed everything up, but it was too late to turn back.

Audrey sat there for a few more minutes, content in watching Nathan from afar, until he said his goodbyes to Jordan and started making his way into The Gull. For some reason not apparent to her, he happened to stop and turn just before stepping up onto the front deck, spotting her in the sea of cars. He waved from across the dirt lot with a shy smile, gesturing for her to join him. She couldn't say no to that, couldn't say no to _him_.

Sending him a quick text to let him know that she'd meet him inside she stowed her gun and badge in the glove box, locked her doors, and made her way toward the restaurant. She was going to have to face him at some point, tell him everything- what they'd found out about the Colorado Kid, that he was her _son_ , and more terrifyingly... about what happened with Duke.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Right? She just had to tackle one thing at a time.

After all, if she could make it through another Taco Tuesday, anything was possible.

 **End.**


End file.
